How does a Scott F. Fitzgerald use color as a motif in The Great Gatsby to convey the hollowness of the upper-class and frivolity of the American dream?

by originalxcypher (student)

International Baccalaureate World Literature

Adil Ali

Period 6

10/10/11

Analytical Journal #2

Prompt: How does a Scott F. Fitzgerald use color as a motif in The Great Gatsby to convey the hollowness of the upper-class and frivolity of the American dream?

In Scott F. Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway analyzes the serpentine characteristics of the rich through the downfall of his enigmatic neighbor, Jay Gatsby, and throughout this encounter, Fitzgerald uses color as a motif to demonstrate the hollowness and deception of the upper class who aim to achieve the American dream. Gatsby’s extravagance portrays the lavish lifestyle of the Roaring Twenties, a period where the United States celebrates their success in World War I by living luxurious lifestyles. In this novel, many of the wealthy characters partake in fraudulent activities or often use money to solve their problems.

Fitzgerald uses the names East Egg and West Egg to symbolize the corruption of the people who reside there because an egg is white on the outside but the yolk is yellow. The color white represents purity while the color yellow represents the deception and lies of the rich. The colors of the egg portray the deception present in the upper class because while the rich of East Egg and West Egg appear pure on the outside they are corrupt on the inside. Gatsby’s funeral demonstrates the deception of the upper class in these cities because ...

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Fitzgerald uses the names East Egg and West Egg to symbolize the corruption of the people who reside there because an egg is white on the outside but the yolk is yellow. The color white represents purity while the color yellow represents the deception and lies of the rich. The colors of the egg portray the deception present in the upper class because while the rich of East Egg and West Egg appear pure on the outside they are corrupt on the inside. Gatsby’s funeral demonstrates the deception of the upper class in these cities because while Gatsby was alive everyone “used to go [to Gatsby’s house] by the hundreds” (Fitzgerald 174), but “nobody came” (Fitzgerald 174) to Gatsby’s funeral. Nick believes that Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, and himself “were all [just] Westerners, and perhaps [they] possessed some deficiency in common which made [them] subtly unadaptable to Eastern life.” (Fitzgerald 176). In this moment, Nick realizes for the first time that though his story is set on the East Coast, the characters from the West are the source of the story’s tensions and attitudes. Nick considers each character’s behavior and value choices as a reaction to the wealth-obsessed culture of New York and decides to leave the East and head back to Minnesota.

In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald often uses the colors yellow and white to show how the characters are like snakes in grass, cunning and duplicitous. For example, Fitzgerald uses the name Daisy to convey Daisy’s deluding ways because a daisy is a flower with white petals and a yellow center. When the police stop Gatsby for speeding, Gatsby “[takes] a white card from his wallet, [waving] it before the man’s eyes…” (Fitzgerald 74); Gatsby uses his connections and social status to bypass the law and the white card symbolizes the false purity that he possesses. In a way Gatsby speeding properly portrays the lifestyle of Daisy and Tom because they always use their wealth and social status to flee from the crimes of their past. These characters pretend to be innocent when they are accused and never own up to their mistakes.Fitzgerald often describes East Egg and West Egg using the color white to display the cities’ false chastity. Throughout the novel Fitzgerald describes West Egg’s “white chasms” (Fitzgerald 62) and its “whitewashed alleys” (Fitzgerald 90) to emphasize the insidiousness of the city.

Throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses the colors white and yellow to represent purity, depravity, and use the colors in unison to show how the wealthy characters in the novel cloak their deceptive sides to appear pure. Gatsby gets sucked into the world of bootlegging and tried to obtain Daisy’s love by getting rich swiftly, however, he did not realize Daisy’s deceptive nature.

they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness."